According to Russian media reports on October 29, Russia strongly condemned Belgian Defence Minister Theo Franken about NATO¡¯s comments on Moscow as ¡°provocative¡± and ¡°irresponsible¡±, reflecting Europe¡¯s growing ¡°militaristic fanaticism¡±.

On October 26, local time, Franken said in an interview that he did not believe that the West's assistance to Ukraine with US-made Tomahawk missiles would trigger a full-scale conflict between Russia and NATO. If Russia launched a missile attack on Brussels, it would be equivalent to "A blow to the heart of NATO" would lead to a devastating counterattack, and NATO could "erase Moscow from the map." He said that he was not worried that the United States would give up its commitment to NATO under Trump's leadership, claiming that "Europe's bias against the US government is so great that it is unbelievable... He (Trump) did say that the United States will continue to support its NATO allies 100%."

Franken also noted that Russia¡¯s military capabilities should not be underestimated because Russia ¡°produced four times as much ammunition as NATO as a whole¡± and could buy ¡°much more¡± weapons for the same money than Western countries.

In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on the 29th that Franken's remarks were in line with the "military fanaticism atmosphere" prevalent in Western Europe. The Russian Embassy in Belgium issued a statement condemning Franken's remarks as "provocative" and "irresponsible" and calling them "ridiculous and completely divorced from reality." The statement said such remarks "most vividly embody the growing militarist fanaticism of European war groups" and warned such officials "pose a threat to the future of the continent and threaten to drag it into a new war."